Restored Gravestone Dedicated To Slave

November 27, 1991|By MATTHEW DALY; Courant Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — The gravestone is simple, an unadorned slab of brownstone with a stoic cherub on top.

But to many people -- a disparate group that includes members of the Middlesex County Historical Society, a New York police officer and a group of Hartford elementary schoolchildren -- the stone marks a life that always will be remembered.

Sambo was an 18th-century slave who lived across the street from the cemetery where his remains rest.

Sambo's gravestone is one of only a few for blacks who lived in Connecticut in the colonial era. The gravestone serves as a reminder of thousands of other blacks who lived in the state before slavery was abolished in 1848 but whose lives often are forgotten -- like their unmarked graves.

"If not for the stone, we would not have known Sambo lived and wouldn't know of the black community who lived in Middletown in the 18th century," said Dione Longley, historical society director.

Longley and seven other historical society members gathered Tuesday at Riverside Cemetery to commemorate the recent restoration of Sambo's gravestone and to plant a chrysanthemum in front of it.

"We are here today to honor a man who died over two centuries ago," Longley said as society members shivered in the 36-degree temperature.

Sambo was owned by Thomas Hulbert, a well-to-do blacksmith who lived across Hartford Avenue from the cemetery, Longley said. He was about 70 when he died on April 24, 1776.

Little else is known about him.

"We don't know if he was born in Africa or America. We don't know who his parents were. We don't know if he had a family of his own," Longley said.

"But we do know that Sambo must have been an extraordinary man, a man who inspired love and caring and respect ... a slave whose grave was marked by a stone monument was indeed special."

The restoration of the gravestone also is special, said William Hosley, curator of American decorative arts at the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford and a consultant on the yearlong project which cost about $2,600.

"The restoration of Sambo's gravestone marks a milestone in historic preservation and the recognition of African Americans in the life of colonial Connecticut," Hosley said. "It's a great day."

Hartford schoolteacher Shirley Paddyfote also hailed the restoration. Paddyfote, whose fifth-grade class at Martin Luther King Jr. School gave $42 in allowance and lunch money to help with the project, called the restoration "a wonderful, wonderful thing."

Paddyfote said she was proud of the fact that "so many of our students took the initiative and were so thoughtful in terms of their contribution." The pupils hope to visit the cemetery next spring, she said.

Paul Minerly, a New York police officer who contributed $500 to the fund drive, also hopes to see the restored gravestone, Longley said. Minerly, who spent summers in Haddam visting his grandparents, told Longley, he "wanted to give something back to the community." A total of 42 individuals and groups contributed to the project, including a Portland second-grader who gave his weekly allowance of $1, a local minister who gave $500 and members of the University Club, a defunct Middletown organization that donated the remainder of its treasury -- $700.

The stone was restored by Hartford monument specialists John T. Zito Jr. and John T. Zito III.

Longley is glad that the restoration of the gravestone is over, but said that its task is just beginning.

"I hope it lasts forever," she said, "and I hope plenty of people see it."